1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to ultrasonic surgical instruments. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to ultrasonic surgical instruments including one or more laminate liner configurations to prevent wear of tissue contacting surfaces on jaw members of the ultrasonic surgical instrument.
2. Description of Related Art
Ultrasonic energy-powered instruments configured to cut and/or fragment tissue are known in the art. Ultrasonic instruments, typically, include a transducer that is coupled to a probe/waveguide having an active member (e.g., cutting blade, shear, hook, ball, etc.) at a distal end thereof. In use, ultrasonic energy is utilized to vibrate (e.g., at frequency usually in the range of 20 KHz to 60 KHz) the active member to treat tissue of interest.
Ultrasonic instruments may include any of a variety of probe configurations to achieve a specific surgical result. For example, the probe configuration may include an active member in the form of a cutting blade that is combined with a movable jaw configured to grasp and/or manipulate tissue. In certain instances, a tissue contacting surface (which is typically made from metal) of the movable jaw member may include a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) liner configured to prevent the cutting blade from coming into contact with the tissue contacting surface. Such ultrasonic instruments are primarily used in a variety of medical procedures including open surgical procedures, luminal procedures, and endoscopic procedures.
During use, the movable jaw member provides support for tissue as the cutting blade vibrates to treat tissue. The PTFE liner and/or the tissue contacting surface of the movable jaw member may wear as a result of prolonged use. As can be appreciated, wear of the PTFE liner and/or the tissue contacting surface of the movable jaw member may result in a decreased surgical effect to tissue. That is, as the PTFE liner and/or tissue contacting surface wears, its tissue supporting capabilities may be diminished.